I’m a NuggNut!

I love McDonald’s. Because I grew up right next to the Oakbrook, IL headquarters? Because I learned to drive stick in their corporate parking lot? Because of the test kitchen at my local mall as a child? Nope. I love McDonald’s because of the chicken McNuggets. If you’ve ever eaten there with me, you know.

That’s why I was beside myself with excitement last week while attending the WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) conference in Vegas. We got a sneak preview from McDonald’s on what genius idea they had come up with for their next WOM campaign. Wait for it…NuggNuts. People who love McNuggets! I’m in this industry. I should be immune to the lure of microsites, facebook pages, and twitter feeds about products. I should recognize what’s behind the drive to talk about McNuggets. “It’s about sales!” my head says. But it’s also about McNuggets and that is a matter of the heart for me.

As far as I’m concerned, they’re a delicacy. They’re a national treasure. I don’t eat McDonald’s very often, but when I do, it is exclusively Nuggets. I’m personally offended by the idea of the chicken selects (impostors!) and cannot quite wrap my brain around a chicken and pickle sandwich, but Nuggets are a classic. I can still remember the day I realized the six piece McNugget fell off the McDonald’s menu. It was like the Christmas I realized that santa wasn’t the one who took the bite out of the oreos I left for him. Devastation. I know you can still get them and, yes, I realize the nine piece is up there, but that’s a little too much McNugget, even for me. Now there is even the farkakt four piece for kids. Please. Respect your children enough to give them the whole six piece experience. If they can’t eat the extra two, lucky you!

Don’t even get me started on the dipping sauces. It’s like the UN for chicken. In order of preference:

Hot Mustard
Honey
Sweet and Sour
BBQ
Ketchup (I think it’s beneath the Nugget, but people seem to do it anyway)

I recognize I’m not alone in this love. Clearly there is an entire army of us (hence the campaign), but I think McNuggets are a love ’em or hate ’em kind of thing. I could keep talking about this all day, but it’s lunchtime and now I’m hungry. Hmmmmm, where’s the nearest McDonalds?